Hajra Omarjee
5 December 2008
Johannesburg — THE Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) struck back at its critics in a hard-hitting report into government spending.
The fund -- which has long been criticised for being ineffective -- is about to be merged with the national youth commission to form a National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
But before the fund is dissolved it has taken a final swipe at its main funder. It has pointed the finger at the government for not investing in youth development programmes.
"One of the key findings of the report was that of the R470bn for the 2006-07 fiscal period, the 34 national government departments collectively allocated about R703m to youth programmes. This constituted approximately 0,27% of the total collective budget allocation of more than R260bn to national departments," UYF CE Malose Kekana said.
The report also stated that only a few national departments had dedicated youth budgets.
"Although they constitute 40% of the population in SA, young people between the ages of 14 and 35 are most likely to bear the brunt of socioeconomic challenges such as unemployment, poverty, poor academic and technical skills levels, crime and HIV/AIDS.
"Last year alone, more than 3-million young people aged 14-35 were classified as unemployed -- they constituted 33% of the unemployed."
Kekana told Business Day yesterday that he thought it was "useless" to merge into the NYDA if systems were not geared to address youth development.
"We need a close connection between expenditure and outcomes," Kekana said.
He defended the fund against criticism that it was just a bank, saying that this amounted to no more than political "posturing".
The youth is of particular significance ahead of next year's general election as the group makes up 24% of the voters roll.
"We are the most renowned fund in the world. We are the largest business support programme in the country. We have micro-financed more than 2000 start-up businesses in SA. People criticise us out of ignorance," Kekana said.
Although the fund is about to be dissolved, it is planning another phase to its research project.
"What we are going to look at is scenario planning. Finding solutions," Kekana said.
The fund was established to promote job creation and skills development among young South Africans.
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